


The Proper Way

by desiderate



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Based on Renai-rubi no Tadashii Furikata, Fluff and Angst, Hair Stylist Wonho, Kindergarten Teacher Minhyuk, M/M, Revenge, idk what else to tag lol
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-14
Updated: 2017-05-14
Packaged: 2018-10-31 15:25:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10902114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/desiderate/pseuds/desiderate
Summary: Hoseok remembers Minhyuk ruining his senior year of high school.Minhyuk? Well, eight years later, he doesn't even remember Hoseok.And perhaps that's why Hoseok decides that this is the perfect opportunity for revenge.(Based on the manga Renai-rubi no Tadashii Furikata)





	The Proper Way

**Author's Note:**

> Hello~  
> I decided to write a Monsta X fic because of my sadness over their US concert situation lol. I pumped this out in the middle of the night so I apologize for any mistakes.
> 
> This is my first time writing Monsta X, and to be honest, I haven't watched a lot of their stuff, so I'm super sorry if characters are OOC. I'm a newer monbebe! But I do love them, and Wonhyuk is amazing.
> 
> This is based off of the manga Renai-rubi no Tadashii Furikata, which I LOVE and really recommend.
> 
> So, I hope you enjoy this!

“Hoseok, your two o'clock is here!” Hoseok heard Kihyun’s voice resonate from the front of the hair salon, sighing as he stuffed the last bit of his lunch in his mouth and started toward the front. Swallowing quickly, Hoseok flashed a smile upon seeing Changkyuns figure shuffling from foot to foot, eyes jumping up from the ground as soon as he heard Hoseok’s steps.

“Hey, Changkyun! It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” Hoseok commented amicably, recalling he last saw the other man a few months ago when the younger had gotten his hair cut for a relative’s wedding. He was on friendly terms with Changkyun, meeting up for coffee occasionally outside of work, but if Hoseok could recall correctly, Changkyun had been abroad with his boyfriend Jooheon for a couple of months.

“Hoseok hyung, nice to see you,” Changkyun said, keeping it short but not unkind. Hoseok motioned for the man to follow him, talking as he went.

“What are you looking to do today? Just the regular, or…?” Hoseok paused, turning to flash a smile at Changkyun as the other man hesitated.

“Well, I’m not sure. I kind of wanted to try something new out, but Jooheon keeps complaining that the last time I dyed my hair it was really dry and unhealthy,” Changkyun explains, running a hand through his dark bangs.

“That’s because I wasn’t the one who did your hair back then,” Hoseok said, laughing as Changkyun rolled his eyes. “But really, look at my hair,” Hoseok said, gesturing to his blonde hair. “I’ve dyed it a ton of times and it’s still healthy. It’s all in the way you take care of it,” Hoseok assured. 

“Okay, I’m willing to try dyeing it again. But nothing too drastic, hyung. I don’t think I could pull off blonde, let alone those blue tips that somehow work on you.”

“Changkyun, with your face, you could pull off anything,” Hoseok flattered, but Changkyun knew the older was just playing around with him. 

“Are you trying to say that you can pull off all of your hairstyles because you have a handsome face?” Changkyun sent Hoseok an unimpressed look. Hoseok simply grinned, a smile crawling up his face with suspicious intent.

“What was that? Did I just hear Changkyunnie call me handsome?” Changkyun simply ignored the comment, humming contemplatively. 

“I was thinking maybe a light brown. A big enough change so that it’s worth it, but nothing Jooheon wouldn’t like,” Changkyun said, nodding his head to himself. 

“Kyunnie, Jooheon would like anything, even if you dyed your hair bright orange,” Hoseok laughed, causing Changkyun to grumble something or another under his breath about how annoying Hoseok was.

Hoseok didn’t mind, he knew the younger was only kidding.

Besides, it was fun teasing him.

***

“Hoseok,” was all Changkyun could manage to say, mouth open in shock as he stared at his reflection. He ran his hand through his new hair -- now a caramel color, shorter but still soft and shiny. Hoseok just smiled.

“No need to thank me,” Hoseok intoned playfully, “Just make sure to take care of it. If you forget anything I told you, just text, yeah?” 

“Of course, hyung. Ah, I can’t wait to show Jooheon,” Changkyun smiled, the corners of his lips turning up cutely. Hoseok’s heart warmed at the thought of the two of them, always being too damn cute. It made his very single heart yearn that much more for a boyfriend. 

“Yeah, yeah, go show your boyfriend. Come on, let me walk you out.” Hoseok finished tidying up his station, laughing to himself as Changkyun took a little longer to follow him, still running his fingers through his hair in awe. “We need to get coffee soon, Changkyunnie. I haven’t seen Jooheonnie for months,” Hoseok enthused as the two walked toward the front.

It had taken almost all day for Changkyun’s hair to be done, due to the bleaching and dyeing process; this is why Hoseok was surprised to hear voices from the front of the store. Kihyun should have been closing up by now, and the few other hairstylists who worked here had already left.

Arriving at the front of the store, Changkyun’s words of agreement to meeting up seemed to fade away. Instead, all that seemed to come into focus were the people in front of him -- more specifically, the person talking to Kihyun.

Fair skin, dark hair, a bright smile -- Hoseok would never mistake the face of Lee Minhyuk, even if it had been eight years since high school, even if he looked different -- more mature, and maybe half an inch taller than Hoseok now. 

Hoseok wouldn’t dare forget the face of someone who had made his senior year so miserable.

He couldn’t seem to gather words, gather any courage to even move. Rooted to the spot, with Changkyun sending him weird glances, Hoseok gaped at the man in front of him, who was chatting amiably with Kihyun.

“Oh, Hoseok,” Kihyun said, noticing that the hairstylist had arrived. Hoseok managed to mumble a greeting back, but his eyes were still trained on Minhyuk, whose attention was now on him. “This is Lee Minhyuk. Minhyuk-ssi, this is Hoseok-hyung, our best hairstylist. Hoseok, Minhyuk-ssi stopped in to make an appointment, he’s interested in getting his hair dyed.” 

“Hoseok-ssi, I’m glad to meet you!” Minhyuk enthuses, hair flopping as he bowed, a smile lighting up his face as his eyes curled into smiles. He looked like a puppy, same as he did back in high school, but Hoseok was less focused on how Minhyuk had greeted him and more on the fact that he had said “meet.”

Meet, as in first time seeing Hoseok.

Did… 

Did Lee Minhyuk not remember him?

After all he had done, did Minhyuk have that bad of a memory?

Sure, Hoseok supposed he did look a lot different. He had been overweight in high school, pimply, and had greasy and poorly styled hair. Now he worked out everyday, with prominent muscles to show for it; his skin was clear, and he had learned to style his hair and dress better. 

And maybe, maybe Minhyuk was a stark memory to Hoseok, but maybe -- maybe Hoseok hadn’t been important like Minhyuk had been to him. Hoseok might have been someone Minhyuk could easily forget, a memory unimportant to Minhyuk. Hoseok was probably never significant enough to be worth remembering.

But did he _really_ not recognize Hoseok?

Bemused by the situation, Hoseok almost didn’t feel Changkyun elbow him roughly in the side. Vaguely remembering his manners, Hoseok bowed numbly back at Minhyuk, choking out a greeting. The other smiled continuously at him, gushing on about how he had heard great things about the salon.

“I’m so lucky Kihyun-ssi let me in! It looked like the place was closing up, usually I’m not going home this late from work! Thanks again Kihyun-ssi for making an appointment for me,” Minhyuk sent Kihyun a smile, and the shorter man nodded. Minhyuk’s eyes traveled back over to Hoseok and Changkyun, widening at the side of the younger.

“Ooowaaaa! Your hair! It’s so beautiful! Did Hoseok-ssi do it?” Minhyuk addressed Changkyun, and the younger seemed shocked for a moment that he was being spoken to before recovering.

“Ah, yes. Hoseok-hyung did this,” Changkyun paused, unsure of anything else to say to add to the conversation. It seemed, however, he had no need to worry about small talk -- Minhyuk was still as chatty as he was in high school. 

“It looks amazing! Gah, I’m so lucky to have someone as talented as Hoseok doing my hair. I can’t wait! I wonder what color I should get. I’ve always wanted red…” Minhyuk trailed off, and Hoseok took the short pause as his opportunity. 

“If you’ll excuse me, I have to go clean up my work station,” Hoseok fibbed, and Changkyun immediately sent him a suspicious glare, knowing that Hoseok had already done so. “It was nice meeting you, Minhyuk-ssi. I look forward to being able to do your hair,” Hoseok bit out, the lie tasting sour on his tongue. 

Walking stiffly back to his station, Hoseok collapsed in the chair that Changkyun had been occupying not five minutes ago.

Of all people, why did Lee Minhyuk have to show up?

After eight years, why did a horrible reminder of his past have to reappear?

High school had been some of the worst years of his life, and the arrival of Lee Minhyuk senior year had made it only that much worse, even if the kid had only stayed at Hoseok’s high school for a few months.

At first he couldn’t believe the other had forgotten him, but removing himself from the situation had given him a little bit of clarity. It was easier to think, easier to examine how much had happened over eight years. Hoseok reasoned that he had changed drastically since they had last seen each other. Plus, he used to go by Wonho in high school, a nickname from some childhood friends, so Minhyuk might not even know his real name.

Shaking his head, Hoseok took a deep breath.

He would get through this. He would cut Minhyuk’s hair, and then never deal with him again. Tell one of the other hairstylists to do his hair, if the younger boy insisted on continuing to come to Kihyun’s salon. 

He wanted Minhyuk out of his life. It had taken so long to move past high school -- he had struggled for years to lose weight and be confident in his appearance, struggled through becoming a hairstylist against the prejudice that the job was one only for women. 

He didn’t need someone like Minhyuk bringing him down again.

Or.

Or, Hoseok thought, raising his eyes so he could meet his reflection in the mirror. He could still hear Minhyuk’s voice in the other room, and slowly he felt the trepidation leave his body, replaced instead with irritation.

He wasn’t the same Hoseok from high school. It had been years -- why should he have to be affected by this anymore? Why should he let Minhyuk’s presence rule over him anymore, when he had power over his life now?

He had taken control of his life. He was handsome, he was successful, he had great friends and a fun social life. And most importantly -- he liked himself. 

There was nothing wrong with him, and he shouldn’t have to feel fear about Minhyuk reentering his life.

Nodding to himself, Hoseok decided that Minhyuk could only have power over him if Hoseok let him. This wasn’t a situation he should back down from.

No, this was an opportunity. 

Feeling a small grin creep its way up his face, Hoseok decided.

This was an opportunity for revenge.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed. This will be at most five chapters, I think.
> 
> I apologize in advance for oddly scheduled updates. Inspiration to write comes to me at weird times. (I have not abandoned my other fic, an ASTRO fic! I'm just struggling to write it atm.)
> 
> Please leave a comment if you enjoyed! It really brightens my day to see them! (:


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